


The Soul Waits

by AluraEmbrey



Category: Glee, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Curses, M/M, Post - Deathly Hallows, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-28
Updated: 2011-09-28
Packaged: 2017-11-06 16:07:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/420765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AluraEmbrey/pseuds/AluraEmbrey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU, Harry Potter crossover. Everybody wants to fall in love, to find that special someone who's hand fits perfectly with yours. What no one wants, is a time limit to find them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Soul Waits

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Glee Summer Fun Exchange. Also, thank you abjusticc for your encouragement as I struggled to write this and making this story coherent, instead of like it was written in multiple brief stints between 2 and 4 am. Which it was. Lol

“Dude, no, you should have seen it!” David said loudly over the sounds of people carrying items onto the train, saying goodbyes and offering hellos. His arms and hands shook as he spoke, as if more body language would somehow make them all know what he was visualising. “The spider was the size of my head. I swear it!”

Blaine chuckled to himself, watching as David turned to Wes, clearly looking for the other boy to back him up. Wes had on his you're-my-best-mate-but-I-think-you're-crazy smile, but it did nothing to placate the tall, dark boy. He just huffed in annoyance and looked instead at the fourth boy in the group. “You believe me, right Finn?”

“Uh, sure dude. Giant spider of doom. Got it.” Finn answered in his slow, confused sort of way. But even his voice betrayed the disbelief they all had.

“Fine, whatever. I hate you all.” Dave told them, crossing his arms and huffing. Blaine just chuckled again and looked out the small window. The platform was filling up fast. Some people were already settled in compartments, their heads hanging out of windows to talk to parents. Others were still rushing through the barrier, trying to make sure they weren't late while carrying parcels and owls. Yet even more were doing what Blaine and his friends were: sitting in a compartment already, catching up for a summer spent mostly communicating via bird.

The train ride to Hogwarts was Blaine's favourite time of year. Even going into his Sixth Year, the boy still got excited about this sort of thing. Honestly, he was the sort of person that could appreciate the little things in life. Like a really pretty sunset or seeing friends after a long time apart. Those were the things that made life great, not necessarily the big things. He could easily burst out in song over how nice his friends were, just as much as how much he loved someone.

Not that Blaine had anyone to serenade, unless he ever got his nerve up to talk to--

“Finn”

No, definitely not Finn, Blaine thought as a new voice in the mix broke the curly haired boy out of his thoughts. Looking up, he saw the familiar face of another Sixth Year, though this one wore robes outlined in green and silver, instead of his own gold and red.

“Yeah, Kurt?” Finn answered, looking at the boy in the doorway as well. The tall Gryffindor didn't look terribly surprised to see him though. Not like Blaine and the others did.

Blaine watched as the pale boy reached into the bag on his shoulder and pulled out a single Quidditch glove. “You nearly forgot this. I found it under the kitchen table as we were leaving.”

Finn didn't seem to notice how shocked his three friends were as they watched the proceedings. Instead he just smiled his goofy grin, and reached out to take the offered item. “Thanks, Bro!”

Kurt rolled his eyes at the words spoken, as if being called 'bro' was somehow offensive. But he could have sworn he saw the edge of those pale, pink lips curve up just a bit as well. Of course, Blaine was the only one to notice this, as both David and Wes were too busy making confused glances between Finn and Kurt. Until, that is, Kurt gave a single wave and turned to walk towards the front of the train. He watched the boy for a moment or two. Noticing the way the uniform swished around leather boots, and hung on this shoulders in a natural, dramatic sort of way no one else in the school seemed to accomplish.

Yes, Blaine was able to admit that Kurt Hummel was a good looking guy. It wasn't like he hadn't had a chance to notice before, in an abstract sort of way. They were in the same year, afterall. Both Prefects as well. They couldn't not know each other at all. The two just didn't know each other well. Really, the only intimate detail he knew about Kurt Hummel was that he was gay, just like himself. But everyone knew that. So how he knew Finn and would have been in his kitchen was definitely confusing. Wes seemed to be the first person to recover enough to ask though.

“Uh... why was Hummel in your kitchen?”

All eyes turned to Finn, who was looking at them as if they were being silly. “He's my brother.” The silence after that statement was palpable. Had they missed something very vital for six years? No, no way. Blaine had been to Finn's house over holiday before, had met his mother, Carole, and everything. There hadn't been any Slytherin's hiding about the place.

“Well, step-brother, actually.” Finn said a moment later. “I told you my mum got re-married this summer. Well, it was Kurt's dad she married.”

“So...” David said, putting the pieces together. “You two are related now. Live in the same house?”

Finn smiled and nodded, looking rather pleased with the situation. “Yeah. Kurt makes a great brother too. He helped me with my summer homework and everything, so I didn't have to do it alone. And he's a really good cook.”

Blaine smiled at how happy his friend looked. Sure, the situation was a bit odd, and definitely not what any of them had been expecting. But if Finn was happy, and his mum was happy, then that was what mattered. And maybe, that small smile he saw on Kurt's face hadn't been imagined. Perhaps he liked having a brother as well.

That was really nice. Just thinking of two families becoming one like that really made Blaine's heart feel lighter. It was sweet to think of how Carole had found love again after all this time, and how she was able to not only gain a husband, but another son as well. And if how Carole treated him when he visited told Blaine anything, it was that Finn's mother would love Kurt like her own.

The whistle signally the approaching departure time made Blaine jump a bit in his seat. He ignored the snickers from his friends, because jumping at noise might not be too odd an occurrence for him, and instead got to his feet. “I better head to the front for the Prefect Meeting. Try not to blow anything up while I'm gone.”

His friend's didn't even bother looking ashamed at all, seeing as how last year they actually had blown something up while he had attended the meeting. He hung out with interesting people, that was for sure.

The walk to the front of the train was filled with friendly waves and nods to several students still hanging out of compartment doors. The train had taken off by now, but that didn't mean all the young witches and wizards were set. There was simply too much to do, too many people to catch up with, to just sit and be quiet. Blaine felt special that so many people were taking time out of their catching ups, just to say hello to him on his way up the train. It was nice knowing so many people in different houses. Why should he be friends with just Gryffindors?

When he finally got to the Prefects' compartment, the boy found himself as the last one to arrive. Whoops. He smiled sheepishly at everyone as they sat waiting for him and took his seat next to his fellow Sixth Year Prefect. A quiet girl, bit mousy, but overall nice enough. Meghan was very fair in how she treated students and everyone liked her well enough. She gave him a friendly smile before turning her attention to the Head Boy and Girl.

“Now that Anderson has shown up,” Jesse St. James said, giving the curly haired boy a bit of a frown, “we can start. Please welcome our new Fifth Year Prefects, Santana Lopez and Thad Harwood of Slytherin, Sam Evans and Andrea Cohe from Gryffindor, Giselle Abbot and Matt Rutherford from Hufflepuff and Nick Duval and Sunshine Corazon from Ravenclaw.”

A general round of applause broke out from amongst the older Prefects. “And of course I, Jesse St. James, am your Head Boy, with Quinn Fabray as the new Head Girl.”

More applause broke out, though it was clearly strained, as they had do it while watching Jesses give his best show smile. While Quinn was looking at them like she knew they all wanted to be her. Blaine wasn't so sure it was a good idea to have the pair of them team up with that much responsibility. But at least they could all be sure that things would get done. You don't fail Fabray or St. James, you just don't.

Quinn picked up a stack of small, evenly cut parchment squares. She handed them to the person sitting next to her and gestured for them to be passed along. “The parchments contain your patrol schedule for this term. They may be subject to change because of Quidditch. But we spoke to captains before we made this, so you can likely expect this to be right.”

By now a paper had made its way into Blaine's own hands. He looked at it, seeing that he had patrol two nights again this year. Seems like they made a small change though, they were doubling up on Fridays and Saturdays; when students got the most stir-crazy. That made sense. Though, as usual, they would be partnered up.

“This year, Headmistress McGonagall wants to work to promote further House unity. As such, your partners for patrol will not be from within your House, but from another one instead. Use this opportunity to get to know your fellow Prefects.” Even to Blaine's ears, it sounded like that part of the speech was pre-scripted and emotionless.

Blaine ignored that though, not really caring if he had to work with someone in another House and not just Meghan. He knew quite a few of his fellow Prefects already. Maybe he'd be able to patrol with Jeff, from Hufflepuff. He was always good for a laugh. Or Mike from Ravenclaw. He was quiet, but really nice as well. Blaine looked at the schedule again, not paying much attention to Jesse as he started speaking again. First patrol night was on Mondays, which was tomorrow, lucky him. And it looked like his partner was... Kurt Hummel.

His eyebrows rose a bit as he read the name, not expecting that. Why it shocked him, he wasn't so sure, seeing as how they were in the same year and all. But somehow it still shocked him enough to make him look up and across the compartment at the boy. From the angle they were sitting at, he could only make out part of Kurt's face; his defined neck as he listened his fellow Slytherins speak. Somehow the boy held a look that was both bored and intense. Hmm, interesting. Looks like Blaine was going to have lots of time to find out just why Finn liked his new step-brother so much.

\------

The first day of term was always a form of very special chaos at Hogwarts. Finn always woke up late, then ran around the dorm crazily. Wes and David always found ways to politely terrorise the First Years, an act that Blaine had to counter thanks to his badge. Which of course earned him the reputation of being one of the nicest Prefects, so all the First Years, no matter what house, came to him with questions all day long. He couldn't turn them away just because he was nearly late for class, could he? Of course not.

Then there were the classes themselves. Blaine considered himself a good student, he came from a good pureblood family and had resources around his house to use to study during the summer. Resources he even made sure to use, so he wouldn't fall too far behind, but somehow the Professors always managed to stump him at something. It was so frustrating.

However, the intensity of the first day back always made the night come that much faster. Before Blaine knew it, he was walking towards the Entrance Hall to start his first patrol of the year. He found himself beating Kurt there, since he had left the Tower a bit early in order to escape another First Year. Sam had been there as well though, he could handle it. But now that he was early, Blaine felt a bit silly, like he was far too anxious to walk around the school looking for troublemakers. He hoped that wasn't how it looked to Kurt whenever the other boy arrived.

Still, there was nothing to do now but wait, so he plopped down on the Grand Staircase and waited. In order to prepare himself, Blaine had tried to ask Finn what Kurt was like. Just so he would maybe have something to talk to the other boy about without struggling too hard. But Finn hadn't had too much to say. Apparently Kurt loved music and clothes, and that's all Finn really understood. Which was pretty useless, because music could be a lot of things. There were so genres and artists and decades to choose from. Who knew what Kurt would be interested in? Not to mention a lot of people didn't like to listen to muggle music like he did. What if Kurt was someone that didn't like muggle things? Sure it had been a few decades since the Wizarding War, but Slytherins did still have a lingering reputation. Blaine tried not to put much stock in it, but it came from somewhere right? And what if...

“Hello.”

The boy gave a tiny jump where he sat when he heard the voice in the otherwise quiet hall. Somehow Kurt had managed to end up standing right in front of him. Blaine jumped to his feet, clutching at the railing to keep from falling. “Oh, hello, how are you tonight? Sorry about that, I just got a bit lost in thought. Don't you hate when that happens?”

Kurt raised an eyebrow in response but said nothing. The pair looked at each other for a quiet few minutes that Blaine wasn't sure was awkward or not. It lingered just on the edge, getting closer with each passing second.

“So, we better get started. Don't want to wait too long.” Blaine said, just to say something. Not his wittiest, but at least it was a full sentence. He watched the boy nod in agreement before turning away to circle around the staircase and start taking the usual route the Prefects took. The Gryffindor took a couple of quick, large steps to catch up, and found himself next to his partner for the night.

Who was being quiet again. But it was odd, though they weren't saying anything as they walked, it still didn't feel quite so awkward. It was a far cry away from friendly, but there was still a certain level of comfort there. Perhaps it had to do with Kurt himself. He was the sort of person that had a presence that spoke constantly. Even in silence, you understood that Kurt was not one to mess with.

Actually, now that he was thinking about it, Blaine wasn't sure he had ever heard Kurt speak much. Even after five years of being in classes together, Blaine hadn't heard Kurt say anything except answers in class. He wasn't sure who the boy hung out with in his free time or if he ever attended any of the Quidditch matches. Blaine knew at least some of these things about nearly all of the people in his year. Except Kurt, it seemed. Suddenly, that felt wrong.

“How was your first day back? Classes ok?”

Kurt's steps clearly missed a beat, not expecting to be spoken to, but his response wasn't nearly as harsh as Blaine thought it might be. It was neutral, skimming around nice, to just be casual. “It was fine. A bit chaotic, but that's to be expected.”

Blaine couldn't help but chuckle in response, that was something he could understand. “Yeah, I know that feeling. Finn nearly overslept and missed breakfast. As usual. And that was just the start of the day.” He was fairly certain he heard a snort come from Kurt in reply. Clearly he understood his step-brother's sleeping habits well already. “And it's clear that classes are definitely going to be tough this year.”

“Well, they are N.E.W.T. levels.” Kurt said simply.

“True. Very true. What are you taking?”

He saw Kurt glance his way out the corner of his eye, something he saw only because he'd been looking at Kurt himself, before looking ahead again. “Transfiguration, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts.”

There was no helping the smile that Blaine felt break out on his face, or the small bubble of excitement that popped up in his belly. “I'm taking Charms and Defence too! Though I'm taking Muggle Studies, Herbology and Potions instead. Don't know how I'm going to last another two years of Sylvester though.”

That time Blaine was definitely sure he heard Kurt snort. “She's not so bad if she likes you.”

Hazel eyes rolled towards the stone ceiling at Kurt's words. “I'm a Gryffindor. She hates me on principle.”

“Well,” the taller boy said, finally looking at Blaine as they rounded a corner. “That's probably true. Guess we can't all be in the best House.”

If Blaine wasn't sure that the other boy was joking with him, he'd start defending his House's pride. But the mere fact that someone who never really seemed to talk to anyway, was suddenly joking with him, well that was able to make up for it. For now.

But after that, the two fell into silence again. This time it fell very much in the realm of comfortable, and if Blaine wasn't imagining it, even brushed against friendly once or twice. If their shared glances and friendly smiles were any indication. Sure, he hadn't learned the answers to all the questions he'd wondered about, but there was time for that later. Instead, Blaine just walked with a spring in his step, humming a miscellaneous song that popped into his head.

It took a minute before Blaine realised that there was another voice humming along with his, harmonising perfectly and not missing a beat. He stopped short and looked at Kurt, who took another couple steps on his own, before realising that Blaine had stopped entirely.

“You know Katy Perry?”

Kurt blushed but held his head high as he replied. “Yes. My mother loved her, said she spent most of her teen years listening to Firework and Extraterrestrial.”

Blaine's jaw dropped a bit farther, before he could force himself to close it and say something intelligent. “Awesome. Most wizards aren't into muggle music. My nanny got me into it when I was little.”

“My mother was a muggle.” Kurt said nonchalantly, as if it wasn't a big deal. Which is wasn't, really. Just because Blaine himself is pureblood doesn’t mean he's a bigot, but most Slytherins are purebloods. That's just how it works. And if they aren't, they don't usually go about flaunting their muggle sides by humming twenty year old female pop artists in the halls. Blaine was finding that he liked Kurt more and more each second.

“Cool.”

Some of the tension in Kurt's shoulders seemed to give away at the statement. Guess he wasn't as nonchalant about his blood status as he sounded. Still, Blaine wasn't going to give Kurt a reason to freak. He just smiled and started humming again. This time going with his favourite song, Teenage Dream.

Humming old muggle pops songs, occasionally pausing to share a few words of opinion, made the rest of their patrol shift seem to fly by. Before he knew it, he and Kurt were back at the Grand Staircase, having made a full round of the school and found no one to yell at. Just like in the beginning, they stood looking at each other before Blaine broke the silence.

“This was kinda of fun, right?” The upward turn of Kurt's lips was all the answer that he got, but that was good enough for him. “See you in class.”

\------

In the week since start of term, Blaine could already feel himself settling into a rhythm. He had had to switch his Thursday night shift to a Saturday night one so that Sam could join the Gryffindor House Quidditch team, but that wasn't a big deal. He wasn't on the team himself, but he did enjoy watching his team play their hardest, and if Sam would be a good Chaser, than he wasn't going to get in the way of that. Just like most Gryffindors, he wanted the Quidditch trophy back in their Tower, instead of sitting under the lake with the Slytherins.

However, thinking about Quidditch isn't what Blaine should be doing. It was their first Saturday, and since he had always been taught to not let his work pile up, Blaine had figured he'd use this time to get a head-start on his Charms project. No one else was ever in the library on a Saturday night, so he was guaranteed some quiet time to work and peruse as he found material to solidify his subject. Thus far, he only had a vague idea of what he wanted to study, and he needed to narrow that down.

Which is why he was currently standing in the Restricted Section, walking quietly so that he wouldn't disturb any of the books. Which, thanks to this being Hogwarts, was an actual thing to worry about. Not to mention, he felt odd being in here. This was his first time in the area, only having just charmed a pass out of Professor Schuester. Of course, having a pass didn't make it easy to get in here, as Madame Pince seemed loathed give him access. As if he was going to be searching for the secrets of Dark Magic, or something like that.

It didn't take terribly long for the young man to find a few tomes that looked like they would give him a good starting place. They were even surprisingly small, at least compared to many of their counterparts on the shelves. So he could carry all four at once without worrying about breaking his back.

Soon he was settled into his table in the corner, parchments spread out, ink and quill at the ready and books open. The words pulled him in, showing intricate spells and giving complex histories that were far more interesting than anything Binns ever taught. The more he read, the more he was sure that his subject was going to be a good one. His hand flew as it took notes, copying down pages numbers and references he could try to follow up with. They might even have a couple of these books at home.

“And what are you doing here?”

Blaine's hand stopped and he looked up to see Kurt's familiar face. “Studying.”

Kurt raised his eyebrow, clearly amused. “You do realise that the library closed an hour ago, right? Even Madam Pince is gone.”

“Oops.” Was all Blaine could say, even as he felt himself start blushing. When had it gotten that late? “Guess I lost track of time. Wait, what are you doing here?”

The Slytherin didn't seem bothered by the question. “Patrol. I take the first half of Saturday nights with Corazon.”

Blaine looked around, but didn't see the tiny girl anywhere.

“She wasn't feeling well. I told her I'd keep going while she went to the Infirmary.”

“That was nice of you.” Blaine said, smiling up at Kurt, who just shrugged in reply. As if being nice in that way was something effortless for him. Which seemed to line up with the Kurt he was slowly getting to know this past week. Finn had nearly nothing but nice things to say about the boy, and Blaine was coming to the conclusion that underneath his aloofness, was a caring and kind person. He just wished he could really see it, that they could be really good friends.

“What are you studying?” Kurt finally asked, for once breaking the silence himself, instead of leaving that up to Blaine.

“Oh. I'm getting a jump on our Charms project. I'm looking into Love Magic.” It was clear even to his own ears, that he sounded a bit like an excited puppy when he said that.

“Sounds... interesting.” Again with trying to sound diplomatic.

“Really, it is. Love is very powerful, that's why it's so hard for us to replicate and understand. Just listen to this.” He flipped open to the next page of the spells and curses book he was looking at. Expecting to find an interesting history to share with Kurt, he spoke aloud as he read.

“ _To love is Human. Souls seek their Mates. By Maturity's Day, Two halves to a Whole, Or be 'Ever Alone. Do not delay. Read aloud, This Curse is Real._ ”

Not what he was expecting to find on this page, that's for sure. Even more surprising and important to note though, was the fact that the book had just started glowing a deep read. It vibrated in his hands, the pages shaking against his fingers until he pulled away. Though that didn't stop the vibrating, he just felt the table start shaking as well, the light getting brighter till it hit his hands, crawling up his arms and settling in on his chest. It glowed to a strange beat, once, twice, thrice, before everything abruptly stopped.

The book was just a book again. And Blaine, he was...

Cursed?

Oh Merlin, he was cursed! Shite! What was he going to do? He looked at Kurt for help, but the boy was just looking at him with his own confused expression, so Blaine knew he wasn't going to be getting any help from him any time soon.

“I'm cursed.” He mumbled to himself.

Kurt actually had the nerve to scoff at him, coming out of his shock and looking at him like he was being silly. “No you're not.”

Blaine turned fully to Kurt, wide-eyed and fearful. “Yes, I am. A book can totally curse you. Haven't you ever head of Sonnets of a Sorcerer!? And I got this book from the Restricted Section, there had to be a reason that it was put there.”

“You're being silly.”

“I'm not being anything but serious. Oh, Merlin. I'm cursed and I don't even know what the curse is.” Blaine hurried to pick the book back up, figuring that it didn't much matter now, did it? His eyes sped read the curse once again, twice again, before he dropped the book. He'd have fallen over, if he wasn't still sitting. “I have to find my true love, by the time I'm seventeen, or I'll never love again.”

Kurt moved to sit in the seat across from him, looking at him with a more serious expression.“Is that even possible?”

Blaine just nodded in reply. This may sound a bit crazy, but it was like he could feel the curse on him. Ticking away in his chest, each second closer till he reached maturity echoing in his ears. _Tick tock. Tick tock._ Leading him to his doom, till the time when he'd end up totally alone forever. He didn't want to be alone forever! He wanted to fall in love and sing sappy songs in the moonlight, eat picnics by the lake, feeding bits to the squid as they chatted. Heck, he just wanted to walk down the halls, feeling another hand in his.

He couldn't be cursed!

“I'm going to die alone.”

Kurt rolled his eyes and gave him a stern look. “Don't be dramatic, it doesn't work for you. All you have to do is find someone by your seventeenth birthday. That's if this curse is even real, which I don't think it is, by the way.”

Blaine chose to ignore the latter half of that statement, instead focusing on the first half. Find someone. Well that wouldn't be hard, he already had someone in mind. He had just been waiting for the perfect time to tell him. Wow, Kurt was sort of a genius really. No wonder he was always doing well in class. The guy was really, really smart. Something clicked in his brain then and he found himself reaching for Kurt's hands across the table. He ignored the shocked look on Kurt's face and just held on. “Will you help me?”

“What?” The Slytherin looked quite confused by the sudden change in Blaine's demeanour.

“I can't do this alone. I need help to pull this off. I only have until October to find him. October 18th, really, and that's so soon. I'm going to need help. Please, Kurt? Please?” Even to his own ears, he sounded whiny and pathetic, but that couldn't be helped. He was desperate. Finn, Wes and David would just laugh at him for being silly if he asked them for help. Besides, he could just feel it in his bones that it was Kurt that he needed to talk to about this. There was reason the other boy had been there when he read the curse, right? It was a sign.

A sigh was the first thing he heard, but finally he heard Kurt agree to help. Even though he did sound a bit exasperated and reluctant. That was ok. “Excellent! I think I have an idea already and you're the perfect person to help me.”

\------

Planning has never been Blaine's strong suite. Which is why he's so glad that Kurt was a good enough friend to spend most of his weekend helping Blaine practice and figure out the logistics. Kurt, he found, was really good at figuring out minute details and remembering small facts. He also has a really creative eye. Honestly, the boy could do stuff like this professionally, that's how good he is.

Of course Blaine should have known from the moment they met up in the unused classroom on Saturday morning, that Kurt would rock at this sort of thing. Where Blaine was dressed in simple slacks and a jumper, Kurt was wearing clothes that easily could have come off a runway. Tight black pants, laced leather boots and a complex blue shirt that made his eyes pop. That sort of attention to detail was astounding, and the result made the Gryffindor sort of felt ugly in comparison. It was hard to be friends with someone so pretty, Blaine was finding out. Not that Finn, Wes, David or anyone else he knew were bad looking, but Kurt was special. There was just something about him that made everyone, no matter gender or orientation, want to look.

Right now though, both Kurt and he were back in uniform, like the rest of the Hogwarts population that was eating breakfast before Monday classes. They were huddled outside the doors to the Great Hall, students passing by them without much of a glance. Blaine noticed all of them though. There were a lot of students at Hogwarts. How had he never realised that before?

“I can't do this.”

In response, Kurt just scoffed and shoved him towards the doors a bit. “Yes you can. What happened to your Gryffindor courage?”

Blaine glared at him for a moment, that was such a cheap shot, before going back to looking just plain scared. “But no one does stuff like this.”

“Isn't that supposed to be the point? That it's different and special, just for him?”

“Right.” Blaine said, feeling a bit stupid for forgetting that so easily. Besides, this had been his idea. A lovely, grand gesture to show how much he cared. Something no one else in this school had. Right, he could do this. “Ok, I'm ready.”

Kurt nodded, and waited for Blaine to get into position just inside the doors. When Blaine nodded, the other boy started waving his wand in an intricate pattern, but to a very clear beat. Musical notes filled the air, washing over the general din of meal time and causing a slight hush. Everyone looked around, trying to figure out where the music was coming from, before finally settling on Blaine, who had started humming along loudly.

Of course, it helped that he had cast a Sonorus on himself. Still, his voice clearly carried over the hushed hall. His oos and ahs and babies seeming to bounce off the walls as he took careful steps into the room.

“ _Oh baby, you found the ingredients_  
 _To set my heart a flame_  
 _Like a Siren I can't resist_  
 _You, I want to claim”_  
  
First stanza over, and thus far he hadn't gotten off key or anything. That was good. Actually, this was sort of fun. The boy knew he loved to sing, driving everyone in his house nuts when he was a child, but he had never tried signing very much at school. Let alone in public. Why didn't he sing in front of other people more often? In fact, Blaine was having such a good time, he couldn't help but give a bit of a shimmy and shuffle, his arms waving with the music as he passed the Slytherin table. That much closer to his aim.  
  
“ _Oh, come and stir my cauldron,  
And if you do it right,  
I'll boil you up some hot, strong love  
To keep you warm tonight.”  
_  
By this time Blaine was already at the Ravenclaw table, where he found many of the students nodding and singing along. Sure it was an old song, but Celestina Warbeck was a wizarding classic. You can't possibly go wrong with her.  
  
Reaching the Hufflepuff table, Blaine finally paused his forward movement, the music truly washing over him now, making him bold and completely unafraid. He grabbed some random kid's spoon out of their hand, pretending to stir the cauldron he was singing of. Instead of getting mad, the kid just laughed. So Blaine decided to go further, keeping his eyes now totally on the prize since the end of the song was nearing.  
  
With a gentle push, he got two students to move apart just enough so he could step on the bench. Only long enough to pop himself up on the table. He was careful as he stepped over glasses and plates, the bridge of the song being heightened by the number of people singing with him. And, oh wow, were Professors Schuester and Pillsbury dancing to this? That was adorable!  
  
Finally the end of the song was at hand, just four more lines that he sang directly into the eyes of the boy he loved, kneeling on the table and putting his heart out there.

“ _Oh, come and stir my cauldron,_  
 _And if you do it right,_  
 _I'll boil you up some hot, strong love_  
 _To keep you warm tonight.”_  
  
As soon as the song ended, the Hall broke out into a mixture of applause and laughter. The latter becoming more prominent and combing with buzzing chit chat as the worst happened. Instead of grabbing him romantically and kissing him before the entire hall, Jeremiah got up, turned away and damn near ran out of the hall.  
  
Blaine just stood there for a moment, until the judgemental eyes of his peers became too much and the urge to flee came over him as well. Before he really knew it, he was off the table, past Kurt who tried to hale him and out the doors. He nearly ran smack dab into Jeremiah who was giving him a look he definitely didn't want to see. It was hard to make out all of the emotions visible, but he could pick out anger, annoyance, embarrassment and, most of all, shame.  
  
“What was that?”  
  
“I was...”

“No, don't even.” Jeremiah cut him off, turning slightly away. “Merlin, Blaine. Most people don't even know I'm gay!”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Blaine vaguely heard Kurt say from next to him. When his friend had gotten there, he wasn't sure. In fact, he wasn't sure of a lot anymore, because he had known, just known that the Seventh Year felt the same way. So what happened?

“But I thought you liked me.” He heard himself say in a voice so small he hardly recognised it as his own.

“We studied together twice last year, shared two owls over the summer and you told me about the hair gel you use. Seriously?” The Hufflepuff said, giving him an even, hard look. “Honestly, I don't even know if I'll ever live this down. Thanks a lot.”

Blaine didn't even get a chance to defend himself before Jeremiah turned around fully and walked away. He watched for a few moments, his mouth stupidly open. The next thing he knew, Kurt was pulling him back, away from the doors of the Great Hall that were opening once again. Kurt all but shoved him into an empty classroom, where Blaine collapsed into the nearest chair.

“I can't believe that happened.”

Kurt was nice enough not to even scoff or roll his eyes this time. What a good friend.

Of course, the rest of the day sucked. Everywhere he went, kids pointed and laughed. Some asked him for an encore. Others mimicked his dance moves. Yet more just settled for continually humming the song all day long, even breaking out the lyrics between classes. All of this telling him that, yes, they had witnessed his complete and utter humiliation. And no, they wouldn't be letting him live it down any time soon.

The only reprieve he got that day was when he did his patrol shift with Kurt. His friend seemed to sense his melancholy and kept up a steady stream of chatter comparing female singers of the past century. They stayed far away from Celestina Warbeck.

The next morning was a full three hours of Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Beiste. She kept them so busy wrangling fire slugs, that no one had the chance to burst out into song. They were too winded from running after the oddly fast creatures. Or just running from the threat of fire the slugs seemed to give off whenever offended.

Though once class gave way to lunch, that gave everyone plenty of time to mock him mercilessly while heading back to the castle. Blaine didn't even bother going into the Great Hall. He hadn't set foot back in there since Monday's breakfast and he wasn't sure if he ever would again. The House Elves in the kitchen were really nice about giving him whatever food he wanted, and they didn't know anything about music at all. It was nice. Not to mention, Kurt was kind enough to give up sitting at his House table to accompany him.

They managed to spend the hour actually enjoying themselves as Kurt talked about his latest Arithmancy assignment and Blaine shared the story of what happened to Wes in class this morning. Eyebrows grew back fast enough. Soon the hour was over though and that meant heading to the first class of the week they shared, Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Sylvester.

This was going to suck.

“Hello Porcelain,” the woman said to Kurt when the pair entered. “Oh and you have Schuester and his hair gel's love child with you. Good.”

So far, so good. Blaine thought to himself as he sat down in his seat at the front with Kurt. That was a very common insult coming from her. Nothing he couldn't handle. A few of the other Slytherins in the class snickered, but that was normal too. In fact, it was so normal it felt kind of nice. It was good to be treated as usual for the first time since yesterday.

“Alright,” the woman said as the final bell rang. “I just got finished testing another batch of recruits for the Auror's program. I was forced to flunk them all after no one could figure out how to properly deactivate my Cluster Bomb Spell. I hope you all won't disappoint me as much as they did.”

Everyone in the class sat up a bit straighter at those words. To anyone that didn't know her, that might sound like an empty threat or a joke, but she was completely serious. Sue Sylvester was the best of the best. Her mother was a famous Death Eater Hunter, and Sue herself had worked in the Ministry as an Auror before finding them too tame for her liking. Still, she only teaches afternoon classes because she trains Auror's in the morning. Not to mention coaching the Slytherin House Quidditch Team in six, consecutive years of wins.

Yeah, Sue Sylvester is scary and doesn't really like anyone. Heck, she doesn't even seem to like her own Slytherins that much more than anyone else. The only exception to that rules seems to be the boy sitting next to Blaine. Kurt doesn't look at all intimidated by what their teacher was saying. In fact, he looked a bit bored.

“Now, your first essay on incapacitating a zombie in less than five spells, is due today. Hopefully you all were able to work on it after the gross display of hormone driven, homosexual failure yesterday morning.” She said, glaring in Blaine's direction. Honestly, he should have known. He ignored the giggles of his classmates and did his best to keep his head high. The laughter died soon enough, because the joke really wasn't that funny. Or because Kurt had turned around and given the all his best Bitch Face.

Either way.

Blaine did his best to focus for the rest of class. Watching as Sue used a reluctant looking Finn as an example on how to take out a zombie, this time barehanded. By the time she was through with him, Blaine knew he'd be taking his friend to see Madam Pomfrey after class. After the banged up boy was back in his seat, the professor got back to speaking for the rest of class.

“I want you all to practice those moves I just demonstrated. Don't be afraid to suddenly, and randomly take down your fellow classmates in the halls. They should be paying attention anyway. And while I don't usually say that they're good for much of anything, and continually suggest they be quarantined from the rest of the school population, Gryffindors are excellent practice dummies.”

It was probably a bad thing that insults such as that to his House didn't even bother Blaine any more. In fact, none of the Gryffindors in class batted an eyelash at her words. While she might not like all of her Slytherins, she definitely didn't like anyone in any other House. Everyone was just used to it by now.

“Merlin. Get your vacant expressions out of my classroom before I catch your adolescent pimples or something.” She dismissed them all with a wave of her hand. But she didn't even need to do that. Most of the class had begun packing up at the word 'out', already headed towards the door to enjoy the ten extra minutes of free time they were getting. When you were in N.E.W.T. classes, any time felt precious. Even in just the second week.

When they were in the hall, Blaine put a hand on Kurt's arm to stop him. The rest of the class passed them, so happy they didn't even mock him this time. Kurt's raised brow asked him what he wanted and it made Blaine drop his hand. Was touching bad? He hadn't thought so. Nah. Kurt must just be curious.

“I might be late meeting you for dinner.”

“Oh?” Kurt adjusted the bag on his shoulder as he asked, “why is that?”

“Can't tell you yet. But it's part of the you-know-what.” Blaine ignored how Kurt rolled his eyes at his silly code name. He'd been too busy to come up with a better name yet. Thankfully, Kurt didn't comment again, just agreed to wait for him. Blaine felt so grateful for how supportive his new friend was being, he couldn't help but throw both arms around him in a quick but tight hug. He didn't get a hug back, but that was fine. It was really quick, so he probably hadn't given Kurt a chance.

“Thanks a lot. I'll see you later!” He told his friend, practically skipping down the thankfully empty hall towards the front doors for Herbology. Maybe he'd make it to class without someone humming at him.

\------

With classes done for the day, Blaine set out on his latest task: finding the North Tower. Which proved to be quite difficult. The only person he knew that was taking the class was Brittany Pierce. She was really nice girl and well meaning, but sometimes a little bit confused. But everyone knew she was some sort of divination savant, so naturally he'd gone to her when he said he needed to talk to Trelawney. The problem was that her directions hadn't made much sense at all. He'd been walking for about an hour, and he didn't feel like he was getting any closer to the classroom. Instead, he just felt lost, because this part of the castle was very empty, and very quiet, which was strange for a boy that was so accustomed to being in the hubbub of the Gryffindor Common Room.

An involuntary shudder sent down Blaine's spine, like the feeling of a ghost passing through him. Except, this place was void of even the dead. Just Blaine. All alone.

Boy was it quiet.

What was that noise?

Blaine jumped and spun around, his hand already pulling out his wand before he even fully turned. The first thing he saw was blonde hair. After that he took note of the blue eyes, thin body and yellow-lined robes. “Brittany.”

“You're lost.” She said simply, her voice seeming to float though the air between them.

“Yeah.” He answered as he put his wand back in his pocket. Now he just felt silly for pulling it out. What did he think was going to happen to him? This is Hogwarts, for Merlin's sake.

“The trap door is behind you.” Brittany said, not seeming to care that he had pulled his wand out on her. He glanced behind him and beneath his feet. Oh, there it was, how had be missed that before.

“Thanks Brit...” She was gone. The boy looked around him a bit, but didn't her anyway. She must have wandered off. That wasn't entirely unlike her, though it was strange that she just showed up like that. Must have just wanted to check on him. That was nice of her. These thoughts carried him down the ladder that led into a large, circular room. There were cushions and soft looking chairs positioned about the place, and a fire roared in the hearth, casting deep shadows. It was a cozy, in its own way.

“Professor Trelawney?”

A thump across the room made Blaine look towards his left. One of the shadows quivered for a moment, before revealing itself to actually being a person slumped in an armchair. The person walked a bit closer, and Blaine was able to make out a thin woman, in lots of jewellery and shawls.

“Ah, yes. Here you are.”

“You knew I was going to be here?” Blaine said, as he could feel his eyes growing wide. Wow, she must not be as much a hack as everyone said.

Trelawney took a moment to sit down in a wooden chair in from of a crystal ball, before finally answering. “The Inner Eye sees many things. Sit.”

Blaine moved as fast as he could to do as he was told, bumping his shin along the way, but not particularly caring. He had more important things on his mind. Like if she could give him any hits as to who his soul mate was. A straight up name would be great, of course, but Blaine really wasn't picky. He'd take what she could give.

The pair sat in silence for what felt like a very long time. The professor's eyes were trained on the ball, and as such so were Blaine's. He didn't see anything other than floating smoke, but he wasn't a Seer. Sure, he knew that Seeing or Divining or whichever it was called, wasn't exactly a precise art, but it could be right. Hadn't Harry Potter had a prophecy made about him and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Clearly divination was real, so who was he to question it? No one, not if it could help him now.

“You're lost. Looking.”

The boy nodded vigorously, afraid to speak in case he threw her off or something. He wasn't entirely sure how this worked.

“What you want is there. But you won't find it.”

“What?”Blaine found himself saying. Won't find it? No, no, no. He _had_ to find his true love, he didn't have a choice in the matter here.

“You won't find it.” She repeated.

“Are you sure you're looking right?” He had to double check, maybe she just needed a better reading. “Does the ball need to be shaken, or anything?” The boy looked up to see a clearly not very happy woman across from him. Oops, he didn't want to make her mad, or mean to question her. But what she said couldn't be right. He needed clues.

“So... I have no hope?”

Trelawney sighed before leaning back in her seat. “You have to open your eyes and See. But you won't. Now please leave. You're clogging the Inner Eye.”

Blaine wasn't sure if he should be insulted or not, no one had ever told him that he clogged their eye before. But he did as he was told, getting up and leaving as quietly as he could. Though he wasn't sure it was the noise he was making that was causing her blockage.

Then again, was she really seeing anything? Cause it had sounded like all she had said was a bunch of nothing. It was all really vague, no details about anything. So should he really take what she said into account? Everyone did say that she was a bit crazy. But at the same time, she had been teaching here a long, long time, so there had to be a reason she was still here. Trelawney must know something.

Before he knew it, he was in front of the kitchen entry way. Kurt was probably already there, waiting for him despite the warning Blaine gave. Oh no! Kurt. What was the Slytherin going to say once he heard where Blaine went. There was no helping the groan that he emitted as he tickled the peach. This was going to be a fun dinner.

\------

It turned out that looking, despite how open he tried to have his eyes, was really hard work. Each day wore on more and more, much of the same thing over and over. Eventually most everyone had stopped mocking him for his serenading disaster, mostly thanks to the fact that he was friendly with so many people in the school. Naturally, the Slytherins had held off the longest, but after a couple of well aimed Bitch Faces from Kurt, even they had been rendered quiet.

Still, it was the end of September and Blaine didn't feel any closer to finding his true love than he was when he was first cursed. Trelawney's advice had gotten him no where at all. Because he saw everyone, and they all saw him, but he didn't know what he was really looking for. Love was really ambiguous.

It didn't help, that every time Blaine thought he had a brilliant idea, Kurt ended up stopping him short. That even included Blaine's latest attempt: giving all the boys between Fourth and Sevenths years a compatibility survey outlining their preferences and personalities. Of course Kurt, being ever logical, had pointed out that there were very few homosexual, or even bisexual guys in their school. And the ones that might still be in the closet, weren't likely to out themselves in a survey. So Blaine had tossed that idea, instead using the parchment as scrap and for note taking in class.

Which all led to a very anxious Blaine sitting in an empty classroom with the person that was fast becoming his best friend. Finn, Wes and David were great, but there was something effortless about being with Kurt. They shared some of the same interests, but had varying opinions about them, which made discussions lively and fun. What they didn't share interests in, they could educate the other about. Blaine telling Kurt all about Quidditch, while Kurt informed him of the who's-who in wizarding fashion.

The best part though? What they were doing right now. Just sitting together in complete, companionable, comfortable silence. There was no need for words, no push to continually fill in the silence. They just sat and worked in peace. Blaine, on a paper for Professor Longbottom and Kurt on taking Ancient Runes notes. Blaine loved this about the two of them most of all, he was really lucky to have met such a great person and have him as a friend in this hard time.

“I can't meet up with you tomorrow after class.” Kurt said as he flipped pages.

Blaine looked up from the notes he was skimming, and instantly met the blue eyes of his friend. “Why?” He hoped the hurt didn't shine though in his voice.

“It's my friend. She's been wondering where I've been so much lately. She's been on her own, and they can tell.”

Well that didn't make much sense, and clearly Blaine's face said that, because Kurt gave a little sigh and closed his book to give his full attention. “Slytherin is a little bit different. Most of us are nice enough, but there are those that prey on the weak, they see it as a status thing. Professor Sylvester liking me means I'm safe from whatever slurs they might want to make.

“Rachel, on the other hand.” Kurt said, his facing getting both a bit stony and soft at once. “She's ambitious and driven, but definitely a bit of an outcast. We never got along until she was made Prefect with me. Then I sort of, extended my umbrella of protection to her a bit.”

“So you're worried that people will think you're not friends anymore if she's left alone too much, and you want to spend time with her to keep her safe.” Blaine finished, his heart doing some sort of strange swoop at the words. That was so very selfless.

“Basically.”

The happy feeling in his chest settled in, making his heart feel tight, but light at the same time. Had Blaine mentioned that he was lucky to have a friend like Kurt? More importantly, had he mentioned that to Kurt himself? He should, he really should. So Blaine got up out of his seat and walked across the desk to bend down and hug Kurt. The taller boy stiffened at first, the breath of a gasp hit Blaine's neck, but soon enough he felt his friend lift his arm and hug back just a bit.

They stayed like that, for just a moment, before pulling back and looking at each other. Kurt's face was flushed, but obviously pleased. Blaine couldn't help but smile in return, his eyes taken in by the depth of colour that Kurt's held. He'd never really looked at them before, had he? They weren't just blue. There were hits of green, maybe even some grey. Honestly, they were breathtaking in their depth.

“Oh, look, Dolphins.”

Blaine took a quick step back from Kurt, as the other boy shifted back in his seat as well. They looked towards the door at the same time though, seeing Brittany staring at them with her usual wide eyes. “You don't have to stop.”

“We weren't doing anything.” Assured Blaine.

Brittany just shook her head though, blonde hair shaking around her. “I know you're both Dolphins. It's ok. Santana even told me it was hot.”

“We're what?” Blaine heard Kurt say in what sounded like disbelief.

“Honestly, Brittany. We weren't doing anything. Just studying. Did you want to study with us? I can help you with your Herbology homework again, if you need.”

Apparently studying was not what Brittany wanted to do at all. She shook her head again and turned to leave, not even saying a word in goodbye. She was honestly developing a habit of doing that to him. He should talk to her about social etiquette. Then again, this was Brittany S. Pierce, she lived by her own rules. The only one that seemed to make sense of the Fifth Year was her best friend Santana. Blaine would talk to her, but she was kind of scary.

Blaine finally turned to look at Kurt again and say the other boy blushing even more than before. “She thought we were snogging.”

“Yeah.” The Gryffindor agreed, moving back to his own seat. Kurt said nothing in reply. “I'd be offended, saying that it was discrimination to assume two gay men can't just be friends without being dissolved into pure hormones, but it is Brittany. I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it. Don't let it upset you Kurt.”

Blaine gently laid his hand on top of Kurt's on the table, giving it a reassuring, friendly squeeze.

“Yeah, friends.” The counter-tenor finally said, opening his textbook again. “We're just friends.”  


\------

Though Blaine is in the middle of a life-ending crisis, that doesn't mean his world has stopped moving. He spends what time he can trying to come up with ideas on how to find his soul mate, throwing himself into his Charms project in an attempt to find any clues, but in the end the majority of his time is actually spend doing legitimate classwork. Which is how he finds himself in the library between classes, trying to find a reference book for Professor Sylvester’s latest assignment on kappa defensive strategy.

“Dude, Blaine.”

Said boy turned around at the sound of Finn's voice to see his friends standing behind him. A smile easily made it's way onto his face at the sight of them, until he noticed that they weren't smiling back. No, they looked quite a bit unhappy. Had something happened? Was Wes's mother ok? Did David's dog die? Oh, no! Had something happened to Kurt? Blaine stepped away from the book case he was pulling from and towards his friends. “What is guys?”

“Where have you been lately?” Wes asked, stepping forward, his arms crossed and face hard. He hadn't seen Wes with this stern an expression in quite some time.

“Uh, I'm right here. We live in the same tower, sit at the same table.” He replied, feeling a bit confused.

“No.” David said this time, coming forward this time. “It feels like we haven't seen you since term started. You leave the tower a lot more now and we don't have any idea where you go. And sometimes you don't show up to dinner.”

Blaine felt his heart break and burst all at once. It had never occurred to him that his friend's would think that all the time he was spending with Kurt meant he wasn't spending time with them for some reason. He never wanted to make them worry or hurt them, but at the same time, it was nice to know that his friends cared about him as much as they did. Maybe he was underestimating them by not letting them know about his situation.

He could fix that though. His birthday was just a week away, and he could use all the help he could get at this point. “I'm really sorry guys. I didn't mean to worry you or anything. Hey, why don't you come with me after dinner? We can hang out and I'll explain everything. Alright?”

It didn't take a best friend to know that the three in front of him weren't quite sure about this. But he could read their faces as they glanced between each other and himself, and he saw that they figured he couldn't be doing anything bad. He was Blaine Anderson, afterall. So there was no harm in agreeing. Just because he could tell they were thinking that though, didn't mean he wasn't happy when they verbally agreed.

“Brilliant! I'll see you at dinner then.” He told them since afternoon classes were going to start soon, and then headed to Muggle Studies with Professor Pillsbury.

Afternoon classes ended quickly though, and dinner was the same as usual. If you ignored how Wes, David and Finn kept trying to get him to tell them details about later. He couldn't do that though, since he honestly wasn't entirely sure what to expect either. Kurt would be there, of course, and likely Rachel since she'd started hanging out with them as well, but beyond that he wasn't sure what to expect. They'd probably study, or just sit and talk. It wasn't anything major that they did. Honestly, the guys were making far bigger a deal out of this than necessary.

No matter how much he tried to tell them that though, they were still nearly buzzing with anxious excitement as he led them to the third floor classroom that he and Kurt had claimed as their own. When he opened the door, he found Rachel and Kurt across the room, arguing softly to each other, their best diva faces on as they tried to out do the other. Of course, as soon as they saw Blaine and his ensemble, their expressions morphed to shock. Just like Blaine was sure the guys were showing.

“Hey Kurt, Rachel. The guys wanted to tag along, I hope that's ok.”

There was a moment of silence after Blaine's attempt to diffuse the tension, but Kurt was the first to recover. “Of course.”

Rachel was off her seat and walking towards the guys just moments after. “Hello. I'm Rachel Berry, I'm sure you know, but I find it very important that I introduce myself to everyone, even more than once. It's part of being a star.”

“Rachel.” Kurt said simply, and she seemed to get the message and backed off a bit. Blaine still didn't quiet get their friendship yet, it was part confrontation, part understanding, but it worked for them. Somehow.

“Call me David.” He raised his hand to be shaken and Rachel took it with a large smile. He didn't know her well yet, but even he could see the relief that relaxed her face a bit.

Blaine smiled as he watched his friends get acquainted. Obviously that wasn't necessary for Finn and Kurt, but everyone else needed it. It amazed him how disconnected Hogwarts would be sometimes. The student population wasn't that large, but thanks to the division between houses, and the sheer vastness of the castle, it was easy to never know the people that you ate in the same Hall with every day. Who knew what they were missing because of it? Once again, Blaine was thankful for being able to get to know Kurt as a person. They locked eyes over Rachel's head and he felt his stomach swoop a bit in happiness.

“So, what do we have planned for tonight?” David said again. He was the sort of person that was good at making people comfortable. It was something effortless that he did, just stepped in, tall and reassuring and put people at ease with just a smile and few words.

Rachel nearly hopped up and down on her toes to be recognised as she spoke. “Well, I was able to procure...”

“No Rachel.” Kurt interrupted, clearly sounding exasperated. Whatever it was she was suggesting, it must have been something they'd argued about before. Probably what they were discussing when Blaine and the others walked in.

“I don't know why you're being like this Kurt.” Rachel turned to face him, her head held high, one hand on her hip.

Kurt mirrored her body language, but in Blaine's opinion is had a greater effect. His high nose and strong neck making his expression seem stronger. “Because it's a stupid idea.”

“What ah... is the idea?” Finn asked slowly.

Rachel turned her eyes from one brother to another, a smile coming back to her face. “I'm working on creating original songs for when I make my début after graduating next year. However I've realised that my experiences have been quite tame and I wanted to do something a little more risqué. As such, I was able to procure some bottles of firewhiskey.”

“Nice!” Finn said, a big goofy grin breaking out on his face.

Blaine looked at Wes and David and saw that while they weren't quite as vocal about their excitement, clearly they were interested in this little drinking escapade as well. Of course, it didn't hurt that that they were Seventh Years and of age already. If they got caught, their punishment would be far less severe. The other four though, were still only sixteen. If Headmistress McGonagall found out, or worse Professor Sylvester, they'd be in deep dung.

But still, it was Friday night, none of them had classes tomorrow and what was wrong with letting lose just a little? After the month he'd had, Blaine could certainly use it. So he might as well have one drink, just to take the edge off for a bit.

Which is how Blaine found himself sometime later with his head on Kurt's shoulder, laughing as Wes and David stumbled into a wall. He probably shouldn't laugh, but they were giggling themselves, and they seemed to be unhurt, so it had to be fine. He giggled again, looking up at Kurt who was surveying the room around him with a frown on his face.

“Are you sure you don't want a drink, Kurt? I can make you one.” He asked from the boy's shoulder.

Kurt looked down at him, his face not frowning now. “I told you, someone here has to be sober and sane.”

Blaine just shrugged in reply, shifting a bit closer to his friend to get a more comfortable. Which wasn't hard to do, because Kurt has a really comfortable shoulder and side. Totally the perfect height and size for him to lean against and not get a crick in his neck. He could stay like this all night.

“Blaine! Dude!” Finn said, walking over with an arm around Rachel's shoulder. “You told us you'd tell us man. You told us.”

It took a moment for Blaine to remember exactly what Finn must have meant. Blaine didn't have anything to share, but after screwing up his eyes and thinking for a moment, he remembered. The curse. He felt that thinking of it again for the first time in a few hours should have hurt more, but it didn't. It was just a thing, a thing he was going to tell his friends.

“Oh right! Wes, David, come here. I'm gonna tell you now.”

“Blaine.” Kurt said softly to him. “Are you sure?”

“Totally sure!” Blaine sat up and looked at Kurt, placing a hand on the boy's thigh to steady himself and reassure at the same time. “They're my best friends. Aside from you, of course. They should totally know.”

Kurt looked like he wanted to argue a bit more, but everyone was already sitting on the floor in front of them, ready to hear his story. “I'm cursed.”

Everyone gasped, giving worried words and faces. Blaine just waved that away. “It's alright. I just have to find my true love by my birthday, or I'll never love again. Or something. Whatever, I can do it. I've been trying for a month now.”

“Oh no!” Rachel said, moving from where she was in Finn's arms and hugging Blaine instead. “That's so sad. Love is important. Oh, I know! Let's sing. We can totally sing about it.”

“Totally!” Blaine detached himself from Kurt's quite comfortable side and followed Rachel across the room. She, like Kurt and himself, shared a love of older muggle music and they easily fell into a fun duet.

_You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, when I met you._

Blaine jumped up and down a bit, spinning in a circle as he held a fake microphone in his hand to sing his beginning part. Rachel bounced a bit as well, moving to the music till their duel part came up.

_Don't you want me baby? Don't you want me? Oooh!_

This was really an awesome song. And Rachel did have a really good voice, it wasn't as nice as Kurt's but it was definitely good. Blaine bounced to himself as he watched Rachel sing her solo part, her expression serious and clearly into the music. When she joined him in jumping around, looking him square in the eye, her hair flew about her head and made her seem to spin even more. Honestly, they sounded pretty good together and were having a lot of fun. The entire night was a lot of fun, the drinks, the people, his friends being so understanding. Heck, Rachel even volunteered to sing with him and she was usually so self-centred. She must really care.

It was nice that someone cared about it.

Which is the only explanation Blaine had for why at the end of the song, he just reached over and laid one on Rachel's lips. It felt... well it felt like a kiss. Lips on top of each other, doing their lip thing. Just a plain old kiss. Not feeling any particular spark, Blaine pulled back and frowned at Rachel, who was looking at him with a very confused expression.

She was less confused though, and more grossed out, when he barely missed throwing up on her by about an inch. Well that probably wasn't a good sign.

The next thing he knew, the room was spinning a bit, even though Blaine was pretty sure he hadn't starting jumping and singing again. Soon hands were on him, one around his waist and another on his shoulder, keeping him upright. He glanced up to see Kurt's lovely eyes looking at him with some sort of expression his mind couldn't quite fathom at the moment. It wasn't quite a good one though, so clearly Kurt wasn't about to compliment his singing.

“Oh Blaine.” He heard, before he leaned on the boy a bit more, his head hitting the same comfortable shoulder and lolling back. He didn't remember anything after that.

\------

The week between the Rachel Berry Drinking Party Trainwreck Extravaganza and his birthday was not a fun one. First he had to deal with the raging hangover the next morning, which even with the help of a Hangover Potion and Pain Potion, didn't properly leave him until well into the afternoon. After that he had had to find Rachel herself and apologise for his drunken behaviour. He may be getting desperate, but that was no excuse for him to kiss her like that. Not to mention, nearly puke on her. Thankfully, Rachel was very understanding about the whole thing. Which was surprising coming from her, but he suspected it might have something to do with the tall friend he saw her talking with later that day.

Once that was complete, it was back to the task at hand. Operation True Love was in it's final and most desperate stage. If he didn't find his soul mate soon, he'd be doomed forever. Forever.

Monday found Blaine walking out of Professor Pillsburry's office with several pamphlets in hand. Everyone knew that if you had a problem, the Muggle Studies teacher was the person to go to. Hogwarts didn't have a counsellor of any kind, your head of House was usually used for that, but Pillsburry was often better. So he went to her during lunch, leaving with some of her patented pamphlets. Including 'The Magic of Finding Your True Love' and 'Boys, How to Find and Keep Them'. After a few cursory glances, Blaine just tucked them away in his trunk.

Tuesday was devoted to catching up on more homework, but Wednesday brought him face to face with Godwin Ackerly. The tall, lithe Chaser on the Ravenclaw House Team. Blaine couldn't help that his face lit up a bit when the handsome boy asked him to go for a walk around the lake after dinner. He ignored the not-subtle thumbs up he was getting from the boys, and headed out with hope. Though a bit chilly that night, it was still nice, with the stars popping up around them, and the conversation about Puddlemere United flowing. Blaine's smiled didn't even falter when Godwin stopped and pulled the shorter boy towards him, their lips meeting urgently. The Gryffindor did stop smiling, however, when he felt a hand on his groin. He tried to push it away, but it was insistent. It took a kick to the shin before Blaine could get away.

Never let your straight friends pick boys for you. Lesson learned.

Kurt was nice enough to console him with a hug the next morning, though. His best friend wasn't happy however, when that evening, Blaine pulled out a deck of tarot cards and asked Kurt to read his fortune. The Bitch Glare he got could make a giant cry.

By Friday night Blaine wasn't sure what to do with himself. His birthday was the next day, no it was just six hours away and he was screwed. Everything he had tried over the past month and a half had failed utterly. Not even kissing a girl had pushed him closer to his love. Instead he just felt alone, so very alone. And the very worst part? Not even singing was making him feel better! All the love songs he kept in his repertoire just seemed to mock him. Apparently his melancholy was so bad that Kurt had to intervene.

“Meet me in the class room later tonight. Who knows what you'll do if left alone.”

Blaine wanted to resent that statement, but he was just so grateful to have someone with him in a time like this, that he didn't bother. He just nodded in agreement and went back to pretending to listen to Professor Flitwick.

His angsting haze took the curly hair boy through the rest of the day, onward to dinner and then into the common room where he sat looking at the fire. As it was mid-October, the castle was just beginning to take on the chilled, drafty air it held through fall and winter. Even with the fire in front of him, Blaine felt like the chill was in his bones, no, in his heart. The drafty feeling was really the air the blew through his heart that in just a few hours would be doomed to never love another.

By the time Blaine came out of his haze long enough to remember about meeting Kurt, it was already just past ten. Oh no! It wouldn't do to keep Kurt waiting, not to mention the boy seemed to be onto something. Maybe alone wasn't what Blaine needed right now. So he left the tower, easily navigating the halls towards their classroom.

Inside the room already was Kurt, sitting at a desk and humming to himself. Their eyes locked and held each other as Blaine closed the door and crossed the room. He immediately took the seat pushed next to Kurt's and turned to the boy.

“Sorry I'm late.”

Kurt just shrugged, his humming not ceasing as he did so. Blaine couldn't quite tell what his friend was humming, but it was nice to hear, nonetheless. In fact, it was just a bit soothing, making the sadness go away just enough so that he could feel his muscles relax. It felt natural to lean against Kurt, putting his head on the boy's shoulder like he had a week ago. He heard his friend take a deep breath, the humming pausing for just a moment, before the breathe expelled into more soft notes.

He didn't know how long he sat like that, didn't bother to look at the clock and watch as his chance at happiness slipped away forever. Instead, Blaine just listened to Kurt's soft voice and felt the steady rise and fall of his breaths. Like this, Blaine could almost feel like he wasn't about to be doomed forever. He could feel happiness and contentment. His heart squeezing with each note.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night_

Blaine opened his eyes upon hearing the words. They were sang softly, a gentle and natural transition from humming to singing. Kurt really loved the Beatles, didn't he? One night when they had been trying to study, Kurt had spent a full thirty minutes debating between which song was his favourite. So it was no surprise that the boy would be singing one of their songs.

_All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise_

Man, Kurt did have a wonderful voice. Blaine had always thought so, ever since they first hummed together on September first, but there was something special about it tonight. This Kurt that was singing softly, almost as if he was singing just for the two of them in this otherwise quiet room, not caring about how he sounded or what it meant. Just singing because it was what his heart told him to do.

_Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly  
Into the light of the dark black night_

Lifting his head, Blaine looked at his friend as he sang. What he saw made his heart clinch tight in his chest, his stomach swooping and dancing. Kurt was beautiful. Not handsome, well put together or hot, not in this moment, instead Kurt was beautiful. His eyes were hooded, lowered and glistening, his shoulder slouched slightly as the weight of the music carried over him. He was raw and open, feeling deeply and passionately as he sang.

Kurt, his best friend friend. Kurt, his support. Kurt, beautiful, witty and smart. Kurt, the person that in so short a time had pretty much become his everything. Blaine felt his is stomach swoop again as Kurt hit a perfect note, his voice quivering just enough on it. Well, almost Blaine's everything.

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise  
You were only waiting for this moment to arise_

It was like a magnetic pull, the way his hands rose to turn Kurt's face towards his. Blaine took in the bright blue eyes, wide and shining, so full of emotion. Longing. Care. Hope. The last note of the song hung between their close lips, just waiting to see if it would die in the air between them. But Blaine didn't give it a chance. He leaned forward, his lips touching Kurt and for a moment he thought he'd made a horrible mistake. Kurt wasn't responding, just sitting there, unmoving next to him. Blaine started to move away, but he didn't get the chance to. A soft hand rested on his jaw, bringing him back to the sweet lips he was tasting. They stayed like that, kissing gently for another moment before Blaine pulled away to look at Kurt again.

What he noticed first though, was the clock behind his friend's head.

12:05. It was after midnight, he was seventeen. An adult. He hadn't figured it out in time. He was so stupid! Five minutes too late because he couldn't see what was right in front of him this whole time!

“Blaine.” Kurt said softly, bringing their faces back together for a quick kiss that had Blaine's eyelashes fluttering. “I'm right here.”

It took a moment, his brain not quite putting the pieces together because everything seemed to be happening at once. Suddenly the time limit and pressure was gone, no more tick tock. But in it's place there was suddenly so much more, this new profound feeling that clutched at his heart, but in a very pleasant sort of way. Finally, Blaine smiled back at Kurt, getting it. Yeah, he was right there and no matter what, Blaine was going to keep him there.


End file.
